Last Valentine's Day

It's been approximately one year since my mom told me she had cancer. It was Valentine's Day and my mom had asked if I could meet her for lunch. Work was busy that day, so I couldn't. She then asked if I could go to dinner instead. I knew something was up then, my mom wouldn't be asking to go to dinner on a school night for four of my siblings when my dad was out of town.

Needless to say, finding a place for dinner last minute on valentine's day was not easy. The pickings were slim. We ended up just going to a place called the Gecko, I think. We walked in and found the clientele to be similar to Chuck-o-Rama before 5:30....lots of sweatpants and denchers.

I have no idea how the food was that night, it would take a lot for food to be memorable when you hear your mom say "I've got cancer, and oh by the way there's this brain tumor and spine issue".

A year later, I'm not sure my mom would consider the whole experience a blessing, and I probably wouldn't go that far either. But looking back, it was probably appropriate that I found out on Valentine's Day because the experience, for me, was a giant lesson in love. I am not a person who cries, except in cases of injury or rivalry game losses, but I was moved to tears several times because of the unbelievable outpouring of love we received from everyone imaginable. It was nothing short of incredible.